The Official Student News Site of Parkway West High

Pathfinder

The Official Student News Site of Parkway West High

Pathfinder

The Official Student News Site of Parkway West High

Pathfinder

Countless anti-LGBTQ+ attacks occur worldwide each year. Whether it’s a deadly shooting or hateful comments in the classroom, discrimination against LGBTQ+ people persists despite strong advocacy for LGBTQ+ rights.

Targeted for existing

Addie Gleason, Managing Editor-in-Chief April 24, 2023

Slurs and hateful words are spray-painted across colorful pride murals. Articles flood news sites as another LGBTQ+ club shooting is announced. Books are pulled off of shelves, and inclusive movies cause...

Missouri residents gather to protest the signing of an anti-trans bill proposed by the Republican Senate. The proposed bill would ban transgender girls from participating in youth sports on girls teams. “At least in the past, laws have only tried to prevent transgender [students] from participating in certain activities, which is already scary,” senior Quinn Gilles said. “Transgender minors barely have any rights, [but] when you thought it couldn’t get worse, now laws are preventing us from being ourselves.”

Protect our transgender youth

Pathfinder Editorial Board March 31, 2023

Living one's truth is a fundamental right, but for many transgender youths in our community, this prerogative is becoming a privilege. Stigma, unsupportive families and hate crimes are already significant...

School should be a safe space for all students regardless of race, religion, gender or sexuality. However, bullying and exclusion can turn productive learning environments into places of fear and distress. Finding a solution to this discrimination is imperative in ensuring every student has a positive learning environment and equal opportunity to succeed.

Capable, curious, caring, corrupted

Pathfinder Editorial Board December 31, 2022

Disclaimer: To protect student identity, certain sources have been given different names. We see the happy-go-lucky attitude daily in our classrooms: brightly colored posters plastered across the walls...

There are hundreds of labels within the LGBTQ community, much lacking proper representation.

Labeled

Addie Gleason, Managing Editor in Chief May 17, 2022

Tired eyes absorb the blue light of my phone as my mind becomes jumbled, crafting a mental Venn diagram of labels. Overlapping, colliding, adding, erasing. This Venn diagram symbolized a world of possibilities...

The influence of religion on public education discussions has grown: we have to protect the secularism of public education while remaining respectful to all groups.

Drawing the line between religion and state

Pathfinder Editorial Board March 31, 2022

As reporters of our school and community, we believe we must share and respect all student voices. Over the last year, we have covered controversial and underrepresented topics, including gender-neutral...

Transgender students and other members of the LGBTQ+ community gather to support a petition for gender-neutral bathrooms, wanting to gain access to a gender-neutral bathroom on each floor of the school.

Transgender and non-binary students petition for gender-neutral bathrooms

Elle Rotter, Awards Coordinator February 8, 2022

DESIGN SOLUTION: Offer multiple gender-neutral bathrooms throughout the school so that transgender, genderfluid and non-binary students have a bathroom to use.  One in four members of the LGBTQ+ community...

Scroll through to find your next great read from the best of 2021.

The Best Pages of our Last Chapter

Elizabeth Franklin, Staff Writer January 18, 2022

As 2021 has come to an end, it’s fun to look back on some of the things that happened last year. While other people may talk about Covid and Joe Biden, I’m choosing to talk about books because I’m...

Media plays a significant role in creating, shaping and reflecting societys prejudices.

Prejudice in the media

Sarah Boland, Staff Writer December 17, 2021

The United States, along with various other countries, has seen an uptick in hate crimes in recent years. The most recent data published by the FBI reported 7,314 hate crimes in 2019. This is the highest...

When someone goes through a name, gender or sexual identity change, it can be hard to make that transition due to our current social norms. People outside of the community can help people transition their identities by understanding pronouns, dead names, and understanding gender and sexual identities. “I think it is very important as a school and as individuals and as a society, that we look at an individual as an individual and that we are treating everyone in a realm that we would want to be treated regardless of the similarities and differences,” Principal Jeremy Mitchell said.

Your words matter: expanding knowledge about the LGBTQ+ community.

Elle Rotter, Awards Coordinator November 14, 2021

Growing up, I was close with a lot of people who changed their sexual or gender orientations. I was excited to grow and support people with their identity changes. Although changing pronouns and names...

The semicolon tattoo is a symbol of perseverance for people who struggle with depression and suicidal thoughts.

The semicolon is more than punctuation

Addie Gleason, Staff Writer November 11, 2021

In modern society, many people’s bodies are decorated by flowing curves of ink, carefully tattooed into intricate designs. Certain tattoos have deep, sentimental meaning, whereas others are simply for...

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